Line #12 Film/JiroDreamsOfSushi


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jiro_dreams_of_sushi_movie_poster_2011_1020744211.jpg]]
2	''Jiro Dreams of Sushi'' is a 2011 documentary by David Gelb focusing on Jiro Ono, the 85-year-old owner and head chef of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a (then) three-Michelin-starred ten-seat sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo.[[note]]In 2019, it was stripped of its stars because Michelin requires that featured restaurants directly accept reservations from the general public. Jiro's restaurant requires that prospective customers book via the concierge at a nearby luxury hotel.[[/note]]
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4	The film outlines Jiro's incredible dedication to his pursuit of the perfect sushi, the career paths of his sons Yoshikazu and Takashi and various apprentices, the fine details of sushi-making, of selecting the right fish, and so on, interspersed with [[FoodPorn shots of delicious sushi]] and set to a Philip Glass soundtrack.
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6	!! This film contains examples of:
7	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:
8	** Yoshikazu knows that when he eventually inherits the restaurant, he will always be seen as inferior to his father unless his sushi is ''twice'' as good as what Jiro made.
9	** Jiro himself mentions how he wishes he had Joël Robuchon's sense of smell and taste, imagining how good his sushi would be if he was as sensitive as Robuchon.
10	** Takashi mentions that although he serves the same food as his father, he has to lower his prices to keep customers coming in (of course, reducing it from 30,000 yen--that's $300--isn't that much of a hit), and has two Michelin stars. (Most chefs would kill for just one.)
11	* CoolOldGuy: Seeing that Jiro was 85 when the film was released, he certainly qualifies. (Not to mention that he remains very much alive and active in 2022 at age 96.)
12	* FoodPorn: One common reaction to the movie is that it's 82 minutes of just pure food porn. It is. The ingredients and sushi are all lovingly and artfully presented; many who see the movie say that if you haven't eaten immediately before watching, you'd better have reservations right afterward, because you ''will'' be hungry.
13	* HeirToTheDojo: Jiro pushed his sons into sushi-making, when they had dreams of going to college and doing other things (Yoshikazu mentions wishing he had had the chance to be a racing driver). Yoshikazu will inherit Jiro's restaurant, while Takashi runs a literal mirror-image (because Takashi is right-handed where Jiro is left-handed) branch restaurant in Roppongi Hills. Because of their training from a young age, they were top-notch sushi chefs far younger than average.
14	* {{Minimalism}}: An ongoing theme. The cinematography is very simple. Jiro's sushi preparations are noted to be absolutely minimalistic and pure--no fancy multi-layered rolls for him. And the soundtrack is dominated by Music/PhilipGlass, the canonical Minimalist composer.
15	* UsefulNotes/TokyoSubways: Sukiyabashi Jiro is located just outside the ticket gates at Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro.
16	* SupremeChef: Jiro and his sons are all legendary sushi chefs.
17	* TrainingFromHell: Jiro's apprentices start by squeezing the hot towels presented to the guests. The water is scalding and burns their hands--but if the apprentice can't hand-squeeze the towels, he won't be able to hack the next ''ten'' years of training.
18	* {{Workaholic}}: Jiro works from 5AM to 10 PM. He hates holidays; he'd always rather be working.

Context Film / JiroDreamsOfSushi